Back-to-school costs haunt parents

Essentials such as textbooks, uniforms & stationery have seen significant price hikes

ISLAMABAD:

As the new academic session begins following the summer vacation, parents are struggling with skyrocketing prices on essential school items.

Many private schools resume classes after the summer break, prompting parents to purchase school supplies for their children. Traditionally, parents either visit designated stationery stores in person or order through online suppliers, but this year, the steep costs have added to their financial strain.

The price of school supplies from glue, colour pencils, markers, lunch box, water bottle, geometry box, school bags, and cut box to textbooks, notebooks and uniforms have registered a significant increase which made it difficult for families, especially salaried class, to manage the educational expenses of their children.

"I have spent around Rs20,000 to purchase the textbooks and notebooks for my son promoted in Grade-III while the stationary, uniform and other essential stuff are still to be purchased which I will buy on weekend as the students can wear coloured clothes during the first week", Hammad Ali, a parent of two said.

Although it has become difficult to bear the expenses of my one school going son who is studying in a private school, but we have no option left when the government institutions lack facilities and educational standards, he lamented.

Ayesha Malik, a mother of three kids, said, "I was shocked to hear the price of trolley bag during my visit to the school supplies shop what to talk of other items. The price of an ordinary trolley starts from Rs8,000 while those having fewer prices are not durable enough to be dragged in a long way in school premises. Sending children to a private school has become very difficult due to the increasing fee structure, expensive textbooks and a long list of stationary and other items."

"Not only the parents have to buy all the stationary themselves but these schools also grab annual charges for stationary in the name of art work, overburdening the parents", she observed.

Another parent, Farah Hamid said that instead of making things easier for the parents, the private schools provided a long list of stationary items to the parents for buying which is usually not fully utilized during the whole year. She urged the authorities concerned to keep check on unusual increase in the prices of school items in the markets and take action against the unjust price hike.

Tahir Mehmood, who is associated with the profession of teaching for a long time, said that parents already struggling amid rising inflation and facing a cost of living are forced to pay high prices of the essential school items of their kids. He said that back-to-school shopping is really stressful for them but they have to pay as being parents they consider these items essential in their shopping list. They are making some real sacrifices and leading uncomfortable life in these days due to soaring inflation, high priced fuel, electricity and gas.

Prices of school items like shoes, uniform, backpack and lunch boxes, crayons, markers, notebooks, chart papers, binders, paper, pens, erasers and pencils have been increased substantially due to the prevailing inflation.

Zia Saleem, who is the owner of stationary shop in F-8 Markaz, said that the inflation has no only distressed the parents of the school going kids but every section of life." He said that the price of back to school essentials has registered a significant increase this year as compared to the last year. The notebooks which were sold at Rs250 each last year are now being sold at Rs500 due to increasing price of paper.

"We cannot reduce the price of stationary items on our own as we are getting these items on increased prices too," he said.